The fact that, of the approximately 600,000 plant species existing on the earth, only some 5 % have been specifically investigated chemically or pharmacologi cally, is a challenge to chemists spezializing in na tural substances and to pharmacologists. In view of the limited number of research capacities and the ever diminishing financial means, this challenge can only be met if, together with an improvement and refinement of methods of analysis, medicinal plant research is carried out on a broader interdisciplinary basis, with comparable, scientifically recognized screening methods, and if it...

Two years ago, about twenty people gathered informally in our institute to discuss mitosis. We took this opportunity to try to separate the "hard" facts of mitosis which are accepted by most people, from the "soft" ones which are still open for discussion. Surprisingly few "hard" facts survived with their reputation still intact. This result led us to orga nize a similar meeting on a larger scale. The outcome was the workshop "Mitosis: Facts and Questions," which was held at the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg from April 25-29, 1977. An introductory lecture was given for each of...

This volume contains the papers presented at the sympo sium on Respiratory Function in Birds, Adult and Erribryonic held in Gottingen, July 28-30, 1977. Some of the manuscripts represent. the papers as delivered, while others are con siderably abridged or extended. An essential part of the symposium was discussion at all levels, from formal discussion remarks with slides to dialogs at the lunch table with scribble on paper napkins. However, no at tempt was made to reproduce any part of the discussion. The symposium was attended by 75 scientists, of varied specializations (physiology, anatomy,...

From 11 to 15 July 1977 about 60 physiologists, endo crinologists, ecologists and other biologists from 14 countries convened at the University Montpellier for a symposium on Environmental Endocrinology. This meet ing was organized as a Satellite Symposium of the 27th International Congress of Physiological Sciences, Paris, 18-23 July 1977. This volume is a record of the com munications presented at the symposium. The objectives of the program were to examine the role of the endocrine system in a wide spectrum of adjustments and adaptations to changes in environmental conditions by various...

The suggestion for a symposium on microbial ecology was first put forward by Professor J.A.R. Miles in 1972. After gaining support from the New Zealand Microbiological Society and the Royal Society of New Zealand. a national committee with international represen tatives and a local committee were formed. Sponsorship was obtained from UNEP, UNESCO, ICRO and IOMS. IUBS and ICOME and the culmina tion was the First International Microbial Ecology Symposium in 1977 attended by over 400 scientists from 30 countries. Certain facets of microbial ecology have been studied for over a century, but the...

The serene phrase, Lest I forget thee, glutathione ..., coined by the Kosowers (1) to describe the state in the 1960's, must be replaced now by something like "Inevitable GSH" in order to characterize the current situation. The surge in interest on the ubiquitous tripeptide has been ama- zing, with publications on GSH running at rates as high as one per day, so that it seemed appropriate to convene international experts for a discussion of recent develop- ments this year. Unlike the two previous meetings in this decade held in Tlibingen in 1973 (2) and in santa Ynez in 1975 (3), the scope was...

This volume contains the papers presented at the symposium on Biophysics and Physiology of Carbon Dioxide held at Regensburg, April 17-20, 1979. The manuscripts represent the full or even an extended account of the oral presentations. We have decided not to include any part of the discussions which took place after the lectures because this would have led to an undue enlargement of the already substantial volume. The symposium brought together some 60 scientists of various disciplines including biophysicists, chemists, biochemists, physiologists, pharmacologists, as well as clinicians whose...

Investigations on the specific effects of blue light on plants began some fifty years ago. In re cent years the growing awareness of blue-light-in- duced phenomena in plants, microorganisms, and animals has accelerat- ed and expanded this research into an ever-increasing variety of blue- light effects in biological systems. In 1977, J .A. Schiff and W .R. Briggs proposed a specific meeting to present and summarize the various blue-light effects and to discuss their mechanisms and possible photoreceptors. In view of the variety of re- sponses and the range of organisms affected by blue light...

If, ten years ago, one had been asked to comment on the prospects of peering into the fmest details of biomolecular organization, most electron microscopists would, I suppose at least, have been quite en thusiastic. When, during the early seventies, several groups were success ful in visualizing single heavy atoms, which undoubtedly was a techni cal triumph, this prompted the most sanguine expectations among bi ologists. In the following years, however, it began to transpire that radiation damage might impose limitations preventing us from taking full advantage of these exciting instrumental...

The Tenth International Conference on Plant Growth Substances was held July 22-26,1979 at the Wisconsin Center of the University of Wisconsin-Madison under the joint sponsorship of The International Plant Growth Substances Association (IPGSA) and the Graduate School of the University. More than 500 persons, including 423 regis tered participants, attended the Conference. Financial support was generously provided by the organizations listed under Acknowledg ments. The Conference was planned and hosted by a Local Committee in response to a request from Professor Dennis Carr, Secretary of IPGSA,...